HISTORIC MAPS, CHARTS & GAZETEERS

Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild
THE COMPASS

MARITIME MUSEUMS, LIBRARIES & ARCHIVES

UNITED STATES - States in Alphabetical Order

COUNTRIES - Alphabetical Order

DIGITAL LIBRARIES & LINKS

UNITED STATES - States in Alphabetical Order

  Maritime Heritage Project
The Maritime Heritage Project is a California non-profit corporation established in 1998 dedicated to preserving that shipping history from the mid-1800s to the turn of the Century
The Project focus is on steamships plying the West Coast of the United States, their Captains and passengers

  The San Diego Maritime Museum, San Diego, California
Star of India- 1863, is the flagship of the San Diego Maritime Museum. The Museum has also acquired the Steam Ferryboat Berkeley - 1898, and the Steam Yacht Medea -1904

  Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic Seaport is one of the countries leading maritime museums. There is the bustling 19th-century village of tall ships and historic buildings, exhibit galleries brimming with the culture of seafaring lives, and a unique shipyard where the nearly lost art of wooden shipbuilding endures. In addition there is the G.W. Blount Library for those interested in all kinds of maritime research and the Planetarium, where exhibits and classes are available for adults and children.

  The G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic, Connecticut
The Library at Mystic Seaport is home to a wide array of books on maritime and related topics. Images, charts, passenger lists, immigration, maritime commerce and industry, ships, ship plans and boat building, historic preservation, and navigation are covered. This is also a most beautiful place to visit.

  Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum, Savannah, Georgia
This museum founded in 1966, exhibits ship models, paintings and maritime antiques, principally from the great era of Atlantic trade and travel between England and America during the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum is housed in the beautiful Scarbrough House in romantic Savannah, Georgia.

  Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport, Maine
Part of the Museum is the Stephen Phillips Memorial Library. It's holdings are manuscripts and archive materials, photographs, nautical charts, in addition to serials, maps, audio-video collections, and scrapbooks. As a part of a maritime history museum, certainly its maritime collections are most prominent. Yet the Library is one of Maine's largest keepers of genealogical and local history research materials. Genealogical holdings are strongest for Waldo County and mid-coast Maine, but they often connect with other areas in Maine and New England.

  Nautical Research Guild, Inc., Silver Spring, Maryland
Nautical Research Guild is one of the oldest and largest volunteer-based marine societies in the United States. The Guild encourages original research into maritime history of all periods and nations, the exchange of information about the construction and equipment of historic vessels, and the construction of highly accurate scale ship models. Sources For Ship Model Builders and Researchers and much, much more.... Maritime Institution Survey: Museum Listing and Links Index of Ship Models and Paintings Links to Archaeology Sites

  Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, Maryland
Primarily a research library for scholars and researchers of maritime history and related fields.. Because of the rarity of the collection, the library's collection does not circulate and is not available through interlibrary loan. It includes photographs, original design drawings, and more. The nearly 4,600 volumes of books relate to maritime and naval history, Maryland and Virginia state and local history, exploration and sea travel, regional maritime fiction, navigation and seamanship, boat and ship design and construction, and other collections which are useful for historical research. Materials personal papers, drawings and photographs, which document various facets of the history of the Chesapeake Bay region and in particular the Eastern Shore aid the researcher.

  Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
The marine paintings and drawings are breathtaking! A must see site indexed by artist and subject, but just scrolling through the pages is sheer enjoyment.

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT:
Hart Nautical Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
The focus of the Hart Nautical Collection is on the technical history of ship and small craft design, construction, and propulsion with the majority of the material coming from the New England area and dating from the late 19th century through the 20th. The holdings consist of artifacts, books, drawings, models, marine art, and photographic materials. The most visible are the ship models, more than 40 of which may be seen on exhibit in the Gallery.

  The Kendall Whaling Museum, Sharon, Massachusetts
The Library houses a vast collection of books and periodicals documenting the association of humans and cetaceans from the earliest times to the present. Appointments are required. It is an excellent venue for advanced scholars in a variety of disciplines to pursue their individual or institutional research, including access to manuscripts, logbooks and journals on microfilm via Interlibrary Loan. Essential bibliographies are available online to aid research. Search the KWM Catalogue of Logbooks and Journals

  New York, New Jersey Maritime Sites Information from marhst-l

  Columbia River Maritime Museum, Astoria, Oregon
The museum houses the finest and most extensive maritime collection in the Northwest. Visitors can view superb displays about lighthouses, shipwrecks, navigation, fishing, and naval history. It has preserved over 200 years of the rich maritime history of the Pacific Northwest.

  Oregon Maritime Center and Museum, Portland, Oregon
A regional museum dedicated to maritime research and accurate ship model building with links to it's own collections and displays that interpret maritime objects pertinent to Portland area.

  Independence Seaport Museum - ISM, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The ISM offers an impressive range of research materials and resources. With more than 12,000 volumes in its collection, the Independence Seaport Museum Library is one of the nation's premier regional maritime research centers. The library maintains a comprehensive collection of maps and ship plans in addition to rare books, manuscripts, charts, and photographs. Specialty resources include the Maritime Records and Passenger Lists of the Port of Philadelphia, periodicals dating as far back as 1728, logbooks, journals, broadsides, The John Barry Papers, Patrick Hayes Papers, John Green Papers, ocean liner ephemera and the archives of several Philadelphia rowing clubs. The library is widely used by researchers, historians, genealogists, sailors, maritime enthusiasts and lay people. In addition it features more than 20 interactive exhibits and audio-visual games throughout the galleries, Admiral Dewey's 1898 flagship, Olympia, a wooden boat shop, changing exhibition galleries and a nautical gift shop.

  The Mariners' Museum, Virginia
At The Mariners', you'll discover galleries filled with an international collection of intricately carved figureheads, detailed ship models, paintings, decorative arts, and other maritime artifacts! Complementing the collection are the impressive Research Library and Archives, The Museum Shop, the film Mariner, historical interpreters, and a 550-acre park and lake.

  Tacoma Public Library, Tacoma, Washington
A very extensive site of links relating to immigrant ships with special emphases on Pacific seaboard immigrant ships, slave ships, ship archives, photos, ship lines, etc. It has a searchable database of more than 13,000 ships and full text information on 1,000 ships built on the Pacific coast with a connection to the Pacific Northwest. It includes the names (and former names) of vessels, their builders, careers and disposition. Well worth spending time here.

  Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Data on more than 7,000 vessels is in the Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library. The files include ships that sailed in 1679 and some that are on the lakes today; some that are diesel-powered, some rigged with sails, and some barges; cargo vessels, passenger boats, military and even pleasure craft.
Each ship file answers these questions:
Is there a photograph(s) of the vessel?
Have there been magazine and newspaper articles about the ship?
When was she built and for whom?
Who was her captain?
What did she carry?
When did she sink and has the wreck been found?
Is there a painting or maybe a blueprint of her hull?

COUNTRIES - In Alphabetical Order

  Australian Museums Online - AMOL
This is a wonderful site. A search will cover all museums and galleries. Results are rated and indicate as to whether there is an image online.

  Canadian Heritage Information Network - CHIN:
Welcome to the Ship Information Database
This database contains information about ships that were registered in Canadian ports or sailed in Canadian waters. Although the primary target group for this database is archaeological resource managers, the information will also be of interest to other historians and researchers with maritime interests. A separate Ship Information Database provides cultural resource managers with a research management tool.
The Great Canadian Guide
Virtual Exhibitions
Artifacts Canada
Reference Tools & Resources

  Maritime History Webliography
A Guide to doing Maritime history research online

  Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
The collection includes artifacts, images, charts and plans relating to the marine history of Nova Scotia. The Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian merchant marine, Nova Scotia small craft and local shipwrecks are particular strengths of the collection much of which represents the period 1850 to the present. The Museum brings history to life so that it is more easily understood. Other programs teach visitors to hoist signal flags, sing sea shanties and explore the lives of women at sea. Major permanent exhibits include the Small Craft Gallery; Halifax Wrecked, the Story of the Halifax Explosion; North Atlantic Convoy, The World War II struggle against German U-boats and most recently Titanic,: The Unsinkable Ship and Halifax.

  Hudson's Bay Company Archives: Ships' Records Finding Aid
London Office Records
Post Records
Ships' Records
Ships' Logs
Seamen's Wages Books
Portledge Books
Ships' Movements Book
Marine Insurance Books
Freight Books
Miscellaneous Papers
Post Maps -
Examine regions in detail:
Labrador and Newfoundland
Quebec
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
Yukon Territory
Nunavut
Denendeh
or North West Territiories
Alaska and Hawaii
Continental United States
Image Galleries: The archives contains a large number and wide variety of still images (photographs, sketches, paintings, etc.).
French Government Records
Other Record Groups and much more....
Search by Ship Name - A-Z List
Search by Area of Service
Ships Based in Europe
Arctic, Eastern (includes Labrador, Ungava and Greenland)
Hudson Bay/ James Bay
Pacific Northwest (includes Sandwich Islands [Hawaii] and Chile)
Ships Based in North America
Arctic, Eastern (includes Labrador, Ungava, and Greenland)
Hudson Bay/ James Bay
Pacific Northwest (includes the Northwest coast and the Skeena and Stikine Rivers)
French Government Service (includes France, Russia, Holland, Norway and the Black Sea)
A Short Catalogue of Microfilmed Records Available through Interlibrary Loan
A List of Published Collections of HBC Documents
List of Archival Repositories and Universities Holding the Inter-Library
Loan Program Finding Aid:
British Columbia
Yukon Territory
Alberta
Northwest Territories
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Ontario
Quebec
Newfoundland
Nova Scotia
United States
United Kingdom

  Merseyside Maritime Museum Galleries Liverpool, England
Devoted to emigration, transatlantic slavery, battle of the Atlantic, shipbuilding, marine paintings. Display of maritime crafts. Ship models. Many boats, some stored (view BA). Customs & Excise. Associate Vessels at Quayside. The collections reflect the international importance of Liverpool as a port and consist of ship models, marine paintings, wooden boats, maritime archives and artifacts associated with nautical archaeology, port services, marine equipment and the social and commercial history of the port. The ship models comprise one of the finest collections of its kind in the world. With regard to British merchant ships built between 1850 and 1950, especially steam ships, the collection is probably unsurpassed. It also has extensive records of the port of Liverpool, local trade associations, shipping companies, merchant houses, port services , charities, ship builders, personal and family papers of seafarers, plus a wealth of plans, photographs and oral tapes.

  National Maritime Museum, London, England
This Museum has a rich and varied collection of images illustrating all aspects of Britain's involvement with the sea from 1500 up to the late 20th century. The Manuscript Collections and the Maritime titles are the largest and most important collections of maritime documents, books as well as charts and ship plans in the world. Searchable and FAQ's.

  German Maritime Museum (Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum), Germany
The German Maritime Museum has collected literature concerning German maritime history. The enormous inventory ranges from the oldest German textbook on the theory of navigation from 1578, to the most important classic works of shipbuilding of the early modern period and modern literature. Apart from the library and a depot, the German Maritime Museum also maintains extensive archives, technical drawings, nautical charts, photographs, films, prints, posters, as well as all kinds of documents and records.

  Maritime Museums in Britian and Ireland - Regional Index
Maritime and Naval Museums in Britain and Ireland Regional Index This page lists the maritime and naval museums, and museum-ships, of Britain and Ireland indexed on a regional basis. Click on the region you are interested in, go on to the county

  The Queenstown Story, Cork, Ireland
Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh, Co. Cork, Republic of Ireland Exhibition on Cobh, the harbor for Cork. Emphasis on emigration, passenger ships, sinking of the Titanic, & Lusitania,. Shipping memorabilia, maritime artifacts New Genealogical info centre.

  Maritime Museum Amsterdam, Netherlands
To get the English version, click on "Maritiem Digitaal". Learn about the maritime history of the Netherlands and visit the replica of the Dutch East-Indies trader Amsterdam. The collection includes, ship models, paintings, photography, vessels, documents, prints, tools, maps, manuscripts, instruments, flags, film, clothing, furniture, technical drawings and much more.

  The Maritime Museum Rotterdam, Netherlands
The library contains a vast stock of literature and information on shipping and shipbuilding in the Netherlands and in the world. The literature collection consists of books, magazines, museum catalogues, pamphlets, press cuttings, microfilms and slides. Many of the books owned by the library come from the W.A. Engelbrecht Collection, which includes rare publications relating to the art of navigation and voyages of discovery. The oldest book is from 1480.

  Maritime Museum, Lisbon, Portugal
Founded in 1863, this museum began with a collection of models of several ships of the Royal Fleet. Now, more than a century later, the Museum has over 17,000 items, in addition to the photographic archive, containing about 30,000 photographs, and the drawing and ships' plans archives approximately 1,500.

  South African Maritime Museum:
John H. Marsh Maritime Research Centre, Cape Town, South Africa
It is designed as a place for serious study with its several hundred shipping reference books going back to the 1800's. The Collection also features the original negatives of photographs of 9200 ships that called at Cape Town in the last century. A catalogue of these photographs is maintained on this Internet site.

  Wales, England & Maritime Family History Research
Timelines of history for UK, Glamorgan and Cardiff
Index to named individuals relating to Glamorgan eg Cardiff Crew Lists 1863 to 1913
Deed Inex for Glamorgan
Indexes to Various occupations groups in Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan parish registers Glamorgan
Maritime Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and associated topics
Army and RAF
North Yorkshire
Gedcom files available

DIGITAL LIBRARIES & LINKS

  National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections - NUCMC
Sponsored by the Library of Congress, this is an extensive cataloging program for archival and manuscript collections in research libraries, museums, state archives and historical societies, with links to their respective repositories. It is not exclusive to ships or shipping. By entering passenger ships in the search engine, the following are some examples of the results. Ship passenger lists, 1891-1918; United States Custom House: Agency history; Massachusetts, Division of Immigration: Register of ships arriving in the Port of Boston, 1848-1892; United States Steamboat-Inspection Service: Certificates and licenses, 1853-1910; Fidelia ,: Ships Log/journal, 1848 July 23-Oct. 10; Talbot: Ships Log/journal, 1849 Nov. 11-1850 Apr. 9; Log Book of the Red Star Line S.S. Belgenland, world cruise, 1928-1929.

  Maritime History of the Great Lakes
Many newspaper articles have been transcribed from the 1800's, as well as various listing such as one from the Globe (Toronto, Canada), 4 August 1856, and Marine Disasters on the Western Lakes during 1869. Other articles are: Steamboats on Lake Erie, 1836; an 1859 report on navigation companies and from 1895, American Steam Vessels.
Newspaper Transcripts
Ship Lists
Shipwrecks
Historical Documents
Articles
Research Collections

  National Maritime Museum: Welcome to Port
Port is an online catalogue of high quality maritime related Internet resources. Every resource has been selected and described by a librarian or subject specialist. Services and materials developed by the Museum's Centre for Maritime Research are also available on this site. Research guides, to help people with their research into maritime history Directory listings of courses, booksellers and maritime museums, and Details of National Maritime Museum publications

  The National Maritime Initiative
The National Maritime Initiative is the office within the National Park Service - NPS, which specializes in preserving America's maritime heritage. Lighthouses, Ships, and other Maritime Resources within the National Park System
Publicly Accessible Large Historic Vessels
Publicly Accessible Lighthouses
Publicly Accessible Lifesaving Stations
National Maritime Initiative Lighthouse Sites
National Historic Landmark - NHL Maritime Heritage Theme Study: Large
Preserved Vessels and Shipwrecks
National Historic Landmark Study of Lighthouses

  Welcome to the World Wide Web - WWW: Virtual Library Museums Pages - VLMP
Museums and exhibitions - The museums in this list are categorized by country/continent.

  Repositories of Primary Sources
A listing of over 3400 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholars for US, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and the near East. Very extensive, all link site.

  TheShipsList Digest Archive

  Maritime and Naval Museums in Britain and Ireland
Over 260 museums and museum-ships in Britain and Ireland, in alphabetical order

  Maritime and Naval Museums in Britain Regional Index
Lists the maritime and naval museums, and museum-ships, of Britain and Ireland indexed on a regional basis.

  Maritime History and Archaeology
List of ship and maritime related sites.

  Robert H. Smith's Master Index to World Wide Maritime Museum Internet Resources (scroll)

Back to Maritime Resources Page
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Research for the original information found in the ISTG COMPASS was conducted by Harriet Rosch and the late Donna Jackson. The ISTG Compass began to guide researchers in September 1999, and is an invaluable research site for genealogists.

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